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Stay up to date with all the latest happenings in the guitar world. On this blog, you'll find information about competitions, notable awards, obituaries, job openings and placements, and more. To submit an entry for Reverberations Live, please email communications@guitarfoundation.org

Cube Squared Records presents ‘World Tour’, the fifth full-length recording by the
Oregon Guitar Quartet. In this project the venerable ensemble takes an imaginary musical
tour of the planet, playing from the vast and rich world music traditions. Music from
Japan, Java, China, Russia, Greece, Catalonia, Zimbabwe, Argentina and Mexico is
masterly performed in newly created arrangements.

Critics and audiences alike have praised the Oregon Guitar Quartet’s performances and
recordings - each has garnered international attention and airplay on hundreds of radio
stations across the nation.

The Oregon Guitar Quartet is an ensemble of four of the finest classical guitarists
working in the Pacific Northwest. The four members, David Franzen, John Mery, Jesse
McCann and Bryan Johanson have come together to create a new chapter in the history of
the classical guitar quartet. Their collective musical interests span centuries of repertoire
and dozens of music styles. Each is an experienced performer with diverse background.

The Oregon Guitar Quartet celebrates the release of their fourth CD, "Classic”. This
record features symphonies by four classical masters: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz
Josef Haydn, Antonio Salieri and Georg Christoph Wagenseil in original arrangements
for guitar quartet. The ensemble will perform works from this latest release and
upcoming projects, as well favorites from past recordings.

Critics and audiences alike have praised the Oregon Guitar Quartet’s previous recordings
– each has garnered international attention and airplay on hundreds of radio stations
across the nation.

"A world class quartet.” "This is a fine recording.”
"In the end, it is the joyousness, energy, and precision
of the performance that convinces me that this group
is one to hear.”
Soundboard Magazine vol. 37 no. 4

"The arresting linear clarity that makes the listener
sit up and take notice in the Bach transcription
portends several things: the emergence of a new,
major force in the world of guitar playing, defined
(among many other things) by a close ensemble
precision and a collective instrumental mastery.”
"The Oregon Guitar Quartet is actively setting new
standards in the art of plucked string ensemble
playing.” "...exceptional recordings.”

Chris Hathaway KUHA-FM Houston Classical Radio

The Oregon Guitar Quartet is an ensemble of four of the finest classical guitarists
working in the Pacific Northwest. The four members, David Franzen, John Mery, Jesse
McCann and Bryan Johanson have come together to create a new chapter in the history of
the classical guitar quartet. Their collective musical interests span centuries of repertoire
and dozens of music styles. Each is an experienced performer with diverse backgrounds.

Salsa Roja, is the new release from internationally acclaimed, Latin Grammy-nominated
classical guitarist Berta Rojas. The
CD, which borrows its name from a sultry dance with origins in Cuba,
comprises 12 compositions that highlight the rhythms and sounds of Latin
America, one of the most musically diverse regions of the world. Some
of the composers featured on the CD include British guitarist Vincent
Lindsey-Clark, Argentine Quique Sinesi and Julio César Oliva of Mexico.

"It was the folkloric element, expressed by the special,
intimate sound of the guitar which attracted me to the repertoire chosen for this recording. In a
way, I feel as though I’ve come full circle since recording The Blue Guitar (incl.
the first recording of Tippett’s Guitar Sonata), Mediterraneo (works by
composers inspired by Greek music, which also reflect my Greek roots), La
Guitarra Latina (South American music) and Fuoco (Mediterranean
music).

These in turn inspired me to research and record music
which pulled all these diverse strands together in repertoire containing
folkloric, ethnic element from both the old and the new world.

The disc
consists of a wide-ranging repertoire of little known works which I hope will
be both stimulating and entertaining. They express the voice of the
contemporary classical guitar and it’s music that I love.” - Eleftheria Kotzia

Gypsy Ballad includes
the Spaniards Moreno Torroba and Joaquin Rodrigo as well as songs and dances
from the ‘old world’ (Armenia, Macedonia, the Balkans, Persia[Iran]). The gypsy
song Sostar Mange was beautifully crafted by the Czech composer Sylvia
Bodorová in her Gypsy Ballad. From the ‘new world’ the famous tangos Cumparsita
and El Choclo from Argentina and Uruguay are the only arrangements,
alongside original music from Brazil, the infectious rhythms of the
Afro-influenced music
of the Caribbean and the purity of Venezuelan song.